Game Station 2.0
Game Station 2.0 is a review web series revolving around video games and geek culture for which one 4-episode season was produced. Hosted by Rich Evans, the series aired from March 22, 2012 to May 28, 2012 on the RedLetterMedia site and provided traditional gaming reviews, interspersed with scripted segments. The series follows a hapless gamer, Unit 603 Idiot, who finds himself bound in indentured servitude for a mysterious organization unconcerned with his well-being. Episodes focus on Unit 603's interactions with his co-workers as he reviews games for an unknown purpose. Due to the discontinuation of the series, Unit 603's fate and the reasons behind his confinement remain unresolved. Premise Unit 603 Idiot, a gaming enthusiast and Spider-Man expert, is a new hire at the Game Station, where he is forced to review old games and other geek media for the mysterious Overlords. As time passes, he grows curious about the nature of the Game Station and the reasons behind his daily confinement to the game station pod. Characters * Unit 603 Idiot (Rich Evans) is a hapless gamer who finds himself confined to a room and forced to produce reviews under hazardous working conditions and without compensation. He is despised by the coworkers he encounters, except Liz the Android. * Tara the Gamer Girl acts as an extradiegetic narrator for the opening segments, introduces the subjects of each review, and gives background information. Since she only interacts with the audience, it is uncertain if the other characters are aware of her existence or if she inhabits the same universe as the other characters. * Overseer 913 (Mike Stoklasa) is Unit 603 Idiot's antagonistic overseer, who manages Unit 4, Subsection 600 to 609, of the Game Station. He micromanages the units but particularly enjoys inflicting physical harm to Unit 603. * Android 221 "Liz" (Liz Shipe) is a sex and data robot, who sexually services all the men of the Game Station and delivers data to all game station pods. She has a seemingly flirtatious exchange with Unit 603. * Unit 609 Jay (Jay Bauman) is a fellow game reviewer, who bullies Unit 603 into reviewing for him. He enjoys greater freedoms than Unit 603, parties often, and is well paid for his work. Episodes The first season of Game Station 2.0 consists of four episodes, released from March 2012 to May 2012. Development Concept and creation The series began as an experimental endeavor by Mike Stoklasa, who wanted to branch out from movie reviews and make a parody of internet game review shows. Rich Evans came up with the title, Game Station 2.0, without realizing a webshow named The Game Station already existed. The series was originally conceived for Machinima.com, a gaming and media website that partnered with RedLetterMedia to release truncated Half in the Bag episodes. Four Game Station 2.0 episodes were produced, but after the dissolution of the partnership with Machinima, the episodes were released solely through RedLetterMedia channels. Production In format and substance, the show was a departure from RedLetterMedia's film-based review series. Whereas Half in the Bag was a discussion-based two-hander, Game Station 2.0 was a one-man review show. Since neither Mike Stoklasa nor frequent collaborator Jay Bauman were gamers and Rich Evans was the only one who had any gaming experience, this precluded any group discussion of the games. Evans chose the games for review, focusing on triple A (AAA) titles and releases he felt were overlooked. In Half in the Bag, Stoklasa and Bauman generally reviewed recent theatrical releases. In Game Station 2.0, however, Evans focused on older games because he rarely bought and played AAA releases on a regular basis. He opted to keep the Game Station reviews short, because he felt he did not have the background to scrutinize the game design and production and could only discuss the games from the perspective of an avid game player rather than a game developer. Each episode has two distinct segments, a satirical introduction with Tara the Gamer Girl and a main review by Rich Evans interspersed with scripted comedy segments featuring guests from other RedLetterMedia productions. The Game Station 2.0 theme song is "Torn Jeans" from the iMovie music library. Future After four episodes were shot, the series was not continued. Unrealized ideas include a Mass Effect 3 review as well as the continuation of Unit 603's plotline. Both Mike Stoklasa and Rich Evans explained that work on other shows and movies preempted any further work on new Game Station 2.0 episodes. Evans expressed dissatisfaction with the series, stating that if the show were to return, he would want to expand the concept beyond the one-man review. By December 2013, the Game Station 2.0 set was largely disassembled. In April 2014, Rich Evans and Best of the Worst co-star, Jack Packard, launched a discussion-based game review show called Previously Recorded. See also * Previously Recorded, a discussion-based game review show. Reception References External Links * [http://redlettermedia.com/shorts/game-station-2-0/ Game Station 2.0] on RedLetterMedia Category:A to Z Category:Game Station 2.0